The Project Gutenberg EBook of An Autobiography, by Catherine Helen Spence

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Title: An Autobiography

Author: Catherine Helen Spence

Posting Date: July 2, 2009 [EBook #4220]
Release Date: July, 2003
First Posted: December 8, 2001

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY ***

Produced by Col Choat. HTML version by Al Haines.

An Autobiography

by

Catherine Helen Spence

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I. EARLY LIFE IN SCOTLAND.
CHAPTER II. TOWARDS AUSTRALIA.
CHAPTER III. A BEGINNING AT SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER IV. LOVERS AND FRIENDS.
CHAPTER V. NOVELS AND A POLITICAL INSPIRATION.
CHAPTER VI. A TRIP TO ENGLAND.
CHAPTER VII. MELROSE REVISITED.
CHAPTER VIII. I VISIT EDINBURGH AND LONDON.
CHAPTER IX. MEETING WITH J. S. MILL AND GEORGE ELIOT.
CHAPTER X. RETURN FROM THE OLD COUNTRY.
CHAPTER XI WARDS OF THE STATE.
CHAPTER XII. PREACHING, FRIENDS, AND WRITING.
CHAPTER XIII. MY WORK FOR EDUCATION.
CHAPTER XIV. SPECULATION, CHARITY, AND A BOOK.
CHAPTER XV. JOURNALISM AND POLITICS.
CHAPTER XVI. SORROW AND CHANGE.
CHAPTER XVII. IMPRESSIONS OF AMERICA.
CHAPTER XVIII. BRITAIN, THE CONTINENT, AND HOME AGAIN.
CHAPTER XIX. PROGRESS OF EFFECTIVE VOTING.
CHAPTER XX. WIDENING INTERESTS.
CHAPTER XXI PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION AND FEDERATION.
CHAPTER XXII. A VISIT TO NEW SOUTH WALES.
CHAPTER XXIII. MORE PUBLIC WORK.
CHAPTER XXIV. THE EIGHTIETH MILESTONE AND THE END.

CHAPTER I.

EARLY LIFE IN SCOTLAND.

Sitting down at the age of eighty-four to give an account of my life, I
feel that it connects itself naturally with the growth and development
of the province of South Australia, to which I came with my family in
the year 1839, before it was quite three years old. But there is much
truth in Wordsworth's line, "the child is father of the man," and no
less is the mother of the woman; and I must go back to Scotland for the
roots of my character and Ideals. I account myself well-born, for My
father and my mother loved each other. I consider myself well
descended, going back for ma